Problem: How do I change the viewing angles Psi, Alpha, and Theta from the viewer’s perspective? Also, please help me understand how these angles are defined. Solution: Below is a diagram from the 360 User’s Manual describing how Tecplot defines Psi (Ψ), Theta (θ), and Alpha (α). The following exercise uses PyTecplot to change each of the three angles by 5 degrees and manifests the result after each step. 1) […]
Problem: Can I play a PyTecplot script from the Quick Macro Panel (QMP) in Tecplot? Solution: Yes! This procedure describes how to add a PyTecplot script to your QMP using the Histogram.py (found in the python handy scripts of our GitHub): 1) Make sure PyTecplot is installed and updated, along with other modules used in your PyTecplot script (such as numpy). It is also recommended that you install the latest version of Tecplot […]
Problem: I want to display the solution time on my plot. Solution: Use dynamic text to refer to Tecplot’s SOLUTIONTIME variable. Navigate to the Insert>Text menu and click on the plot to open the Text Details dialog. Refer to the SOLUTIONTIME variable using the following syntax: &(SOLUTIONTIME) Please see the User’s Manual for a list of available options regarding dynamic text formatting. For example, to format the solution time […]
Problem: I want to perform a clip plane. Solution: Use a set of macro commands to clip above/below the defined slice. The macro command related to the clipping of planes is: $!SliceAttributes 1 ClipPlane. It can take the following arguments: AbovePrimarySlice, BelowPrimarySlice, and None. Consider adding these macros to your Quick Macro Panel for faster access: $!MacroFunction NAME = “Clip above primary slice” ShowInMacroPanel = TRUE $!SliceAttributes 1 ClipPlane […]
Problem: My solution time is in seconds (ssss.ss), and I want to display it as hours:minutes:seconds (hh:mm:ss.ss). Solution: Use a Tecplot macro to loop over time and retrieve the solution time. Assign the hours, minutes, and seconds to new variables and refer to their max values using dynamic text. Macro Procedure (see link to the GitHub script below): Retrieve the number of time steps: $!EXTENDEDCOMMAND COMMANDPROCESSORID=’extend time mcr’ COMMAND=’QUERY.NUMTIMESTEPS […]
This article describes both a macro and a PyTecplot script that extracts a field variable along a line normal to a surface. We recommend using PyTecplot insofar as possible. Example: Load the M6-Wing example file, which can be found in your Tecplot Installation Directory: …/Tecplot/Tecplot 360 EX 20xx R1/examples/OneraM6wing/OneraM6_SU2_RANS.plt. To better visualize the node at which we’ll probe, let’s turn on the mesh for the second zone. Zoom somewhere on […]
Problem: I am displaying one axis in my 3D plot, but my data interferes with it (see Figure 1). How do I offset my axis away from my plot? Solution: Change the minimum value of the vertical axis range in that view. In the case of Figure 1, the Z axis range minimum needs to be decreased. For this example, 1) Go to Plot>Axis… and select the Z axis and […]
Question: At high magnification, my cell and point labels become grainy and look terrible. How can I display these labels correctly? Solution: Use software rather than hardware rendering to display these node labels on a highly zoomed plot. See Figure 2. 1) Download software_hardware_rendering_qmp.mcr from our GitHub or create a macro with this code: #!MC 1200 $!MacroFunction Name = “SwitchToSoftwareRendering” SHOWINMACROPANEL = true $!Page UseSoftwareRendering = true $!EndMacroFunction $!MacroFunction Name […]
Question: I am running out of memory rendering my fine-mesh data. How do I read-in a smaller, decimated version of my ordered dataset into my layout? More details: If you are working on a computer with limited resources, some processes can surpass the available computer memory. If you are unable to add more RAM, this can cause Tecplot to slow or, at worst, crash. Try this solution if some actions […]
Question: How do I change the contour legend header text? See Figure 1. Solution: Tecplot 360 2021 R2 and newer: Renaming the legend text header from a contour variable to custom text can be done easily via the Contour & Multi-Coloring Details dialog. 1) In Tecplot 360, go to Plot>Contour/Multi-Coloring… 2) Select the Legend tab and see the Header options at the bottom (see Figure 2). 3) Switch the Header […]
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